Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

In the Biblical book of Daniel, Shadrach , Meshach , and Abednego (sometimes referred to collectively as The Three Young Men ) were three young men from Judah brought into the court of King Nebuchadnezzar II during the first deportation of the Israelites . Their Hebraic names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (respectively). Along with Daniel (His Chaldean name was Belteshazzar) these young men were said to be from the royal family or nobility of Judah and were brought into King Nebuchadnezzar's court by Chief Official Asphenaz. These three are most noted for their part in the Biblical narrative of the fiery furnace .

Daniel 3 (the third chapter of the Book of Daniel ) tells how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego , three noble youths of Jerusalem, condemned to death in a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar , king of Babylon because of the faithful refusal to worship any god but the God of Israel, were saved by the angel of God and promoted to high office. The theological high point of the story comes when Nebuchadnezzar confronts the defiant Jewish youths and asks what god will deliver them from his hands; they reply that the real question is whether God is present and willing to save. When the three are thrown into the furnace the king sees four men walking in the flames, the fourth "like a son of god," meaning a divine being: the message is not that they are rescued from the fire, but that God is present with them.

King Nebuchadnezzar (left) watches the three youths and the angelic figure in the furnace (right), while the king's gigantic statue towers behind them (centre). The first six chapters of Daniel are stories dating from the late Persian/early Hellenistic period, and Daniel's absence from the story of the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace suggests that it may originally have been independent.

The Fiery Furnace; from the Book of Daniel, 3"; St. King Nebuchadnezzar (left) watches the three youths and the angelic figure in the furnace (right), while the king's gigantic statue towers behind them (centre). In the narrative, the three Jewish men are thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar II , King of Babylon for refusing to bow to the king's image. The three are preserved from harm and the king sees four men walking in the flames, "the fourth ... like a son of God". They are first mentioned in Daniel 1 , where alongside Daniel they are brought to Babylon to study Chaldean Aramaic language and literature with a view to serving at the King's court, and their Hebrew names are replaced with Babylonian names. The first six chapters of Daniel are stories dating from the late Persian/early Hellenistic period , and Daniel's absence from the story of the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace suggests that it may originally have been independent. It forms a pair with the story of Daniel in the lions' den , both making the point that the God of the Jews will deliver those who are faithful to him.